Marumarum is a publication focused on sending Positive Messages Into Negative Spaces.
Every week we share brief articles on a variety of topics aiming to shed light on a new aspect of life. Additionally, there are longer articles on projects or concentrated ideas on a monthly basis.
-Parker Dellis at Marum Studios
[006] Tipped Priorities
The moment when we feel something in our life change is like the tipping of a scale. As weight is added onto the scale, at some point or another the scale will tip, diving into the unknown side of imbalance. This expected or unexpected tipping can cause our minds to weaken, our spirits to be crushed, and our hearts to become vulnerable; leaving us mentally and emotionally anywhere but the now. In the midst of these moments, it’s easy to lean into confusion and ignore healthy practices or support from others. After all, self-destructive tendencies are often easier to participate in than building beneficial practices. And unfortunately, in the midst of imbalance, the demands of life never seem to stop while needing to make decisions. We are forced to balance the to-do lists at work with the priorities of what matters most to us.
This balancing act comes at a taxing cost for all of us. Every day we have a set of priorities. And whether we like it or not, whatever our priorities might be they will motivate and guide us through our day and to the next. However, priorities can be tricky to balance when energy is finite and time is limited. Not to mention balancing the short vs long-term importance of a given priority comes with its own factors. For example, we all have to deal with loss, discomfort, confusion, defeat and hate to name a few experiences. Over time we have the choice to deal with these life events or attempt to submerge them hoping to sink them. As creatures of purpose, it's natural to feel lost when our perspective of the world around us is shattered. In our despairs, how can we prioritize what matters most when we don’t know what is what?
In moments of pain and heavy burdens, our priorities are anything but understandable. Our pain and confusion redistribute how we prioritize our needs and wants with our shoulds and musts. While figuring out priorities is difficult enough, how often are head over heels falling into the unevenly distributed mess of life and don’t even realize it? We feel the strain of social duties to make money while lacking to acknowledge our overstuffed and piled minds. How do we balance our need to take a few healthy selfish moments in tending to ourselves with our call to care about many other life priorities?
There is no perfect answer or strategy or process. But all is not hopeless; all is not lost.
Reminder: Life is full of days within seasons, and no day will be the same and no season will remain forever. Trust that the steps taken to grow and improve today will produce fruits into tomorrow; whether they are seen or unseen.
1%: The 1% rule is built off the concept of marginal gains [see Atomic Habits excerpt here] where if we focus on changing a teeny part of our life, over time we will have made enough teeny changes to see an overall change in our life. Read the excerpt on the British Cycling team for an excellent example. The 1% rule allows us to take the smallest portions of time in our craziest of days and push forward just a little bit. It might be breathing for 30 seconds, drinking water first thing in the morning, stretching for 5 minutes while watching TV, and so on.
To-Do’s & To-Don’ts: Making To-Do lists is a dangerous game of adding weight to the descending tipping of the scale and relieving ourselves from some weight. For many, having a long To-Do list becomes unproductive while keeping a To-Do list to a maximum of 3 tasks has been seen as optimal. And sometimes we need to make To-Don’t lists for ourselves. If we need to break out of something unhealthy then we can set out parameters to not do something. Having someone besides ourselves keep up accountable is the best-case scenario for To-Don’t lists, but be wise with who you trust.
To some degree life will always be swaying in and out of balance, so how can we prevent the fastest and most detrimental imbalances in life? We hope some of these suggestions are helpful, and that as we continue to grow with the changes in life we all can find the support we need. At the end of the day, a shift in priorities becomes a game of making necessary sacrifices and gains in order to cope and find balance. We hope our resources, writings, and research can aid you in your balancing.
Atlas of Places
Atlas of Places is one of the most unique collections of educational collateral and ideas we have come across. AP intentionally curates cartography, cinema, essays, painting, photography, research, and architecture projects that belong to no specific systems. Thus, due to their disconnected nature, these projects feel very unique and shed light on some very fascinating ideas.
Explore Atlas of Places {here}
Documerica
From 1972-1975, Documerica was a project focused on photographic documentation on subjects of environmental concern in the United States. During this time over 20,000 photographs were taken, and now, Documerica is taking some of the overlooked images and restoring them for the public domain. Take a look at these fascinating photos from the 1970s.
See America from 1972-1975 {here}
If You Have Time to Spare
[+] Have you tried doing something along the lines of Morning Pages {here}?
[+] Need a few more design lessons? Degreeless Design provides a list of articles/books to read through if you are curious about furthering your skills {here}
[+] Looking for briefs? Briefbox has free and paid briefs with informative walk-throughs and examples. Personally, I have tried it and for me, where I was I found it helpful. Check it out for yourself {here}
[+] Quote on using the internet: “In practice, digital gardens can look like personal wikis, note-taking apps, and innovative websites that are designed for slowness and contemplation. Rare digital spaces to pause, connect ideas, and, if we want, share unfinished thinking in broad daylight. For those of us seeking a respite from the endless rivers of content and haunting forest of opinions Appleton says, The garden is our counterbalance.”
Marum Resources:
[+] Are.na
Thanks for reading. I know we are all busy, so I appreciate your time! For further discourse, feel free to comment below or reach out on are.na and Instagram.
Excellent insights and practical!